Chard or Swiss chard (; ''

Beta vulgaris ''Beta vulgaris'' (beet) is a species of flowering plant in the subfamily Betoideae of the family Amaranthaceae. Economically, it is the most important crop of the large order Caryophyllales. It has several cultivar groups: the sugar beet, of gr ...

'' subsp. ''vulgaris'', Cicla Group and Flavescens Group) is a green

leafy LEAFY (abbreviated LFY) is a plant gene that causes groups of undifferentiated cells called meristems to develop into flowers instead of leaves with associated shoots. ''LEAFY'' is involved in floral meristem identity. ''LEAFY'' encodes a ...

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

. In the

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish; the leaf stalks are usually white or a colorful yellow or red. Chard, like other green leafy vegetables, has highly nutritious leaves, making it a popular component of

healthy diet A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A heal ...

s. Chard has been used in cooking for centuries, but because it is the same species as

beetroot The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

, the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

s that cooks and cultures have used for chard may be confusing; it has many

s, such as silver beet, perpetual spinach, beet spinach, seakale beet, or leaf beet.

Classification

Chard was first described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...

as ''Beta vulgaris'' var. ''cicla''.''Beta vulgaris'' var. ''cicla'' at Tropicos
accessed 2014-02-27 Its taxonomic rank has changed many times, so it was treated as a subspecies, convariety, or

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

of ''Beta vulgaris''. (Some of the numerous

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are ...

are ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''cicla'' (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Cicla Group), ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''cicla'' (L.) W.D.J. Koch var. ''cicla'' L., ''B. vulgaris'' var. ''cycla'' (L.) Ulrich, ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' (Leaf Beet Group), ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' (Spinach Beet Group), ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''cicla'' (L.) W.D.J. Koch (Flavescens Group), ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''cicla'' (L.) W.D.J. Koch var. ''flavescens'' (Lam.) DC., ''B. vulgaris'' L. subsp. ''vulgaris'' (Leaf Beet Group), ''B. vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' (Swiss Chard Group)). The accepted name for all beet cultivars, like chard,

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...

and

, is ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris''.''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' at Tropicos
accessed, 2015-02-27''Beta vulgaris'' L. subsp. ''vulgaris''. In: Uotila, P. (2011): Chenopodiaceae (pro parte majore). – In: Euro+Med Plantbase
accessed, 2014-02-27 They are cultivated descendants of the

sea beet The sea beet, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima'' ((L.) Arcangeli.), is a member of the family Amaranthaceae, previously of the Chenopodiaceae. Carl Linnaeus first described ''Beta vulgaris'' in 1753; in the second edition of ''Species Plantarum ...

, ''Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''maritima''. Chard belongs to the chenopods, which are now mostly included in the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...

(''sensu lato''). The two rankless cultivar groups for chard are the Cicla Group for the leafy spinach beet and the Flavescens Group for the stalky Swiss chard.Sorting ''Beta'' names at MMPND

Etymology

The word "chard" descends from the 14th-century French ''carde'', from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''carduus'' meaning artichoke thistle (or cardoon, including the

artichoke The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...

). The origin of the adjective "Swiss" is unclear since this coastal plant is native to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, not Switzerland. Some attribute the name to it having been first described by a Swiss botanist, either

Gaspard Bauhin Gaspard Bauhin or Caspar Bauhin ( la, Casparus Bauhinus; 17 January 1560 – 5 December 1624), was a Swiss botanist whose '' Pinax theatri botanici'' (1623) described thousands of plants and classified them in a manner that draws comparisons t ...

or Karl KochChard
Centre for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (although the latter was German, not Swiss). Chard is used in traditional Swiss cuisine, however, namely in a dish called '' capuns'' from the

canton of Grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label=Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Surmiran, (Can ...

Growth and harvesting

Chard is a biennial. Clusters of chard seeds are usually sown, in the Northern Hemisphere between June and October, depending on the desired harvesting period. Chard can be harvested while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity when they are larger and have slightly tougher stems. Harvesting is a continuous process, as most species of chard produce three or more crops. Raw chard is extremely perishable.

Cultivars

Cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of chard include green forms, such as 'Lucullus' and 'Fordhook Giant,' as well as red-ribbed forms, such as 'Ruby Chard' and 'Rhubarb Chard.' The red-ribbed forms are attractive in the garden, but as a general rule, the older green forms tend to outproduce the colorful hybrids. 'Rainbow Chard' is a mix of colored varieties often mistaken for a variety unto itself. Chard has shiny, green, ribbed leaves, with petioles that range from white to yellow to red, depending on the cultivar. Chard may be harvested in the garden all summer by cutting individual leaves as needed. It does not bolt. In the Northern Hemisphere, chard is typically ready to harvest as early as April and lasts until a hard frost, typically below 25 degrees. It is one of the hardier leafy greens, with a harvest season typically lasting longer than

kale Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a head ...

, spinach, or baby greens.

Culinary use

Fresh chard can be used raw in

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a v ...

s, stirfries, soups or

omelet In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chive ...

s. The raw leaves can be used like a

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...

wrap. Chard leaves and stalks are typically boiled or sautéed; the bitterness fades with cooking.

Nutritional content

In a serving, raw Swiss chard provides of food energy and has rich content (> 19% of the

Daily Value The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of health ...

, DV) of vitamins A, K, and C, with 122%, 1038%, and 50%, respectively, of the DV. Also having significant content in raw chard are

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

and the

dietary minerals In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. However, the four major structural elements in the human body by weight (oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy u ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

, and

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosp ...

. Raw chard has a low content of

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or ...

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respon ...

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple es ...

, and

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by th ...

. When chard is boiled, vitamin and mineral contents are reduced compared to raw chard but still supply significant proportions of the DV (table).

References

{{Authority control Leaf vegetables Beta (plant) Edible plants